The four of them exited the staff building and arrived in front of the haunted cave. Next to the haunted cave door was a map of the cave.
image [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/805112036714479656/1215682170723508274/SPOILER_Haunted_cave.png?ex=65fda33f&is=65eb2e3f&hm=d7d62d583bd484bb1c79cad13c5c93ac3e330afe20630325f71349123cb80e34&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=601&height=565]
They entered through the front gate. Just as Shira and Nami said, there were creepy paintings there. Going to the right was the bathroom and going to the left from the gallery was a drinking pub although the alcohol there was just soda in disguise. The four of them then entered the mirror maze which was located at the center of the haunted cave.
The maze had no ceiling but its walls were tall and the different mirrors on the wall reflected their bodies in strange distorted ways that fooled their eyes.
“According to Nami, this is the place she said she lost Nyuna.” said Hellen.
“I can see why.” said Fushichin as he eyed over the corner to see the hallway in front spread into different parts.
They walked and turned right three times, walked forward in a hallway to enter an intersection with 2 closed doors and two open paths including the hallway they came through.
Fushichin walked over to the paper strapped to the wall which likely was a map.
image [https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/805112036714479656/1215682088901156884/SPOILER_Maze2.png?ex=65fda32c&is=65eb2e2c&hm=11ff3693a286f3c76d921f3bd438a07b67bad378d4dedd2b6ad6c99daeda53ca&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=754&height=567]
Under the map it read “Entering through the main door you will find the intersection. In the intersection there are the doors A, B and C. From these 3 doors only one will be open at a time and each door stays open for 10 minutes then closes. Door A opens after door C closes, door B opens after door A closes, door C opens after door B closes.”
“Interesting.” pondered Fushichin.
Hellen had already arrived next to Fushichin and took a picture of the map.
“Thank goodness this crappy place has a map. Navigating through this became much more easier.” said Nera as scratched his neck.
They navigated through the maze thanks to the map and arrived at exit C. At the exit was a brown faceless mannequin spreading its arms forward. They went past the mannequin and entered a wide hall. There were a bunch of long tables placed across the hall and chairs placed next to them. Drink machines, music boards were placed next to the walls.
“According to the map, this place is called the dance party. I think a certain party was supposed to be held here at the time of the incident.” said Juniper.
They went past the dance party and exited into the open light outside of the haunted cave.
“No cameras here, so the culprit could have easily escaped using this entrance with Nyuna if they wanted to.” said Fushichin.
“Depends on how big the party was. I wonder how easy it would have been to carry Nyuna out through a bunch of people partying. Maybe someone saw something.” said Hellen.
“Or conversely, they could have used the other exit and exited through the magic show that was happening there.” said Nera with a smirk.
“That’s possible too.” said Hellen.
“In order to get from one exit to the other, you have to go through the mirror maze. As you can see in the map, not every section is connected to its adjacent sections through a door.” said Fushichin.
“Yeah, the magic show section for example is only connected to the mirror maze. Who designed this crap.” taunted Nera with a laugh.
“Considering how tricky the mirror maze was, maybe the creators were going for the creepy and mysterious theme for Halloween. And the area being too easy to traverse would ruin the fear immersion. Maybe that was the mentality” said Fushichin.
Together they went towards the magician show section of the maze. There three people were talking playfully. A man with well oiled curly hair with a fancy purple robe talked to two women.
“Hey, question. Were you here yesterday?” asked Hellen.
The man turned his eyes towards Hellen, then his eyes also darted towards Juniper as well. Realizing that the man was seductively glaring at them, Juniper frowned. Hellen noticed too but didn’t care.
“Why yes ladies. I in fact was, how could I help you?” asked the man with a sly smile.
Hellen pulled out her badge and showed it to him.
“If you were, that's good. We would like to take your testimony. We’re investigating the case of the missing idol, Nyuna, if you heard of that one.” said Hellen.
The man nodded sadly and said “Ahh, yes. Miss Nyuna Natashan. I heard that she went missing. It's a shame, I was looking forward to her performance. She was scheduled to perform in this very park yesterday, so it's hard for me to miss.”
“What were you doing?” asked Juniper.
“Ahh, I am a magician, you see. If you can tell from my clothing. I was here showcasing my cool magic tricks to make the audience wow yesterday. Between 11 to 13. And these two ladies I am certain could collaborate my words” said the magician happily towards the ladies.
“11 to 13 huh. From the footage we saw that Nyuna entered the maze with her friends around 11. So this could be vital” said Fushichin.
“Yes, yes. He was performing with his sidekick pal on stage. You were really talented Andreu.” said a blonde haired lady with a very revealing dress.
“Thank you darling. I’ll make sure to always have plenty of surprises for you” said Andreu the magician as he held the woman’s hand and gently kissed the back of it.
Nera scanned the man’s face with his top info tech and said “Andreu Slichwowski. Age 29, lives alone by renting an apartment in the Southern district.”
“Uhh, privacy laws matter you know” said Andreu with disappointment and moved his eyes towards the women.
“Ohh, don’t be afraid Andy. We understand, life must be tough. You can live with me to save money,, if you want to” said the long black haired lady with a laugh.
“Why, it would be my pleasure.” said Andreu.
“Huh, I guess you wouldn’t have to worry about housing if you’re flirty enough.” said Fushichin.
“Please, during the show did you see anything suspicious? Maybe something big being carried?” asked Hellen.
“Not really. Most of the people sat here on the seats. There were some people who passed by us. But other than that, nothing special” said Andreu.
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“Just to be sure, could you please tell us who passed through during the show?” asked Nera.
Andreu scratched his hair and said “That would be difficult. I was very busy performing and looking at the audience reaction that I probably couldn’t tell you properly.”
“We were there. So we could just tell you all about it instead of Andreu” said the blonde haired woman.
Nera scanned the faces of the ladies again and said “The blonde lady is Irina Welse, Age 32. Works as a fashion model at-”
“Oh my god, are you people just allowed to know everything about us? And free to disclose all of that? That is soooo messed up. I’m definitely gonna write it on my Pinstagram later!” yelled the black haired lady.
“And that’s why you shouldn’t disclose info from the topinfo tech in front of witnesses and suspects.” said Fushichin happily.
Nera frowned and scanned the black haired lady’s face.
“Moony Talesome. Age 34, works as a bartender. Her address is-”
“Could you please stop disclosing personal information.” said Moony the black haired lady.
“I’m a detective. I’m here to disclose the truth. If you consider the truth to be hurtful, that’s not my problem. Maybe try to be honest about everything without withholding information when dating others?” said Nera with a mean glare.
“First of all Nera, you’re a cop. But on the other hand, I can’t say I disagree that the truth should be available to everyone” said Fushichin.
“But there are certain situations where the truth is worth hiding, right? It couldn’t always just be black and white” said Hellen as she somberly eyed Fushichin.
“Tch. That’s just an excuse to run away from your responsibilities as detectives. If you’re gonna talk about some half assed shit like that, I’m gonna steal your spots as detectives in no time” said Nera with a menacing glare and grin.
“Yeah, sure buddy. Notify me before you dox someone next time.” said Fushichin.
“Honestly, that guy pisses me off. I was thinking of telling you but-” started Irina but Hellen quickly interjected “Please, it is to save the life of that idol girl. The way she disappeared is simply too unnatural.”
Irina looked at the detectives with a mean look but sighed and said:
“Alright, I can see that you actually care miss, uhh”
“Hellen” added Hellen while looking earnestly towards Irina’s eyes.
“Yes, Hellen. So I will dig my memories and tell you who went past this very room. I’m sure Moony wants to help too” said Irina in which Moony nodded.
Hellen quickly brought out her phone and so did Juniper, they both recorded the testimony.
“Moony and I sat here at around 10:50. At exactly 11 Andreu started the show. The very first person I saw entering from outside and going to the maze is this burly man with a black coat.” said Irina.
“Oh yeah, I remember it as 11:40. The man had this gigantic beard and small eyes. He also had a suitcase with him.” said Moony.
“Yeah yeah. Wow, you remember well.” said Irina.
“Next was a guy with a red scarf and spiky hair. Went from the maze towards the outside. Roughly around 12:00. Wasn’t holding anything.” said Moony.
“Yeah, he looked kinda cute, didn’t he?” said Irina.
“And next is a woman with dark glasses and curly hair. Around 30 years old. Was wearing a brown coat and a very expensive looking handbag. She went from outside into the maze” said Irina.
“Yeah, around at 12:10” said Moony.
“And finally. The guy wearing a brown hoodie. He covered his face with his hoodie so not much to note there. He exited the haunted cave” said Irina.
“I remember it as 12:20” said Moony.
“Seriously, are you a robot or something? How the hell are you a bartender?” asked Irina.
“Ehh, you would be surprised how much decent jobs require these days. Having good memory of the time is just a side gig” said Moony playfully.
“Did anybody else pass by you?” asked Hellen.
“No, nobody did.” said Irina.
“Everyone else sat there patiently and watched the show. The lights were on when he did the show so thanks to that we were able to recall the details of the people who did pass up on Andreu’s wonderful show” said Moony with a laugh.
“I’m guessing everyone else at the show must have been sitting tightly without going to the bathroom? Can you confirm that?” asked Fushichin.
“Yeah, I can. Don’t know if I would get threatened by the culprit later or something but I can verify that people didn’t leave their chair.” said Moony.
“I love my viewers!” said Andreu happily.
“So, what did you do afterwards? Were you still here after the show?” asked Fushichin.
“Actually we were. These two ladies specifically came to me about how much they enjoyed the show. We chatted for a while here in this very room up until umm.” mumbled Andreu.
“Until 14:30 where one of the idol group girls came in here to notify that their team leader Nyuna was missing. We actually participated in the search because of that” said Moony.
“Oh you did. Did you find anything during the search?” asked Juniper.
“Not much. We didn’t take the search that seriously unfortunately.” said Irina.
“No need to feel guilty. And besides I have to thank you for the detailed testimony you gave us. This could prove to be very vital” said Hellen with a smile.
“Hmm, so Nyuna was definitely not carried out through this path?” asked Nera.
“I guess. Doesn’t feel like we’re making a mistake in assuming that.” said Fushichin.
“Then that means she was definitely carried out through the back entrance.” said Juniper excitedly.
“Right. Let's see if we can find anyone who could provide testimony regarding the back entrance during the party.” said Hellen.
The four of them entered the maze again and walked along the hallway. They almost got lost but thankfully still arrived at exit C of the maze. This time around they saw a clown at the exit. The middle aged man with rainbow colored clothes threw a white sheet onto a mannequin at the entrance.
“Damn kids, always messing around” mumbled the man as he fixed the sheet into a neat position, creating a ghost figure.
“Excuse me, you’re a staff member working in the park?” asked Hellen as she approached him.
“Yeah. My name is Buudi Uran. Call me Buudi the clown if you want to.” said the clown with a grunt.
“Huh. The mannequin supposed to have a white sheet on them?” asked Fushichin.
“Oh these? Yeah. For Halloween purposes. It is supposed to be a scary ghooost. But damn kids just stripped it naked recently.” said Buudi.
“Could you give us a testimony of yesterday? What were you doing between 11 to 14?” asked Hellen.
“11 to 14? Ahh, yes. I was actually at the dance party.” said the clown with enthusiasm.
Nera and Fushichin smirked at the sound of that.
“What was that party like?” asked Hellen.
“Oooh, it was quite fun. We drank some juice. Played party games and danced around. The guitarist Emily Rockson performed live there too with a zombie makeup.” said Buudi with a smile.
“That sounds really fun.” said Hellen with a smile.
“But more importantly did you see someone carrying someone in a large bag or whatever the fuck a person can fit in?” asked Nera.
“Sheesh. Language my young child. There wasn't anyone who carried a bag in particular, much less a bag someone could fit inside.” said Buudi.
“Then how about someone concealing themselves?” asked Fushichin with a smirk.
“Oh yes. There were a few people who wore ghost costumes. People who painted their skin green or zombie like. One guy had an actual pumpkin on their head, can you believe that? Haha!” laughed Buudi with a belly laugh.
“And how many ghosts did you see? Did possibly one of these ghosts be the thief of the sheet placed on this mannequin?” asked Fushichin with a smirk.
Buudi the clown put a finger on his cheek and said “Ahh, yes yes. Maybe you’re right. Shit, why didn’t I think of that before. There were two ghosts. One ghost had arm parts that you could put your arms in. The other one was your typical minimalistic ghost costume, a white sheet placed on top of themselves with holes opened up to see and breathe. Come to think of it, the parts where the hole was cut out, matched the parts where the mannequin sheet is supposed to have black mouth and eyes.”
Hellen put her knuckle under her cheek and asked “Do you really think the kidnapper was the person who stole the sheet from the mannequin?”
“Yes. Well, if Buudi here is telling the truth, I see why not. Afterall, he said that there were no large luggages. And if there is any other costume that can fit both Nyuna and the kidnapper inside of itself, I’m sure Buudi would have mentioned it.” said Fushichin.
“Don’t lie to us, old man.” said Nera with a frown.
“I’m not lying. Why would I lie?” grunted Buudi the clown. .
Hellen saw a spark of genuine anger behind Buudi’s eyes.
“I trust you. You don’t look like you’re lying. And if you’re not lying then the simplistic ghost costumed person really is the kidnapper. They must have tied up Nyuna onto their back or front with ropes or tapes. Was there anything that could be used to tie something up inside the haunted cave?” asked Hellen.
“Hmm. Maybe Andreu might have some. Don’t see why he would lend it to others, it would be vital for some of his tricks. But not at the dance party.” said Buudi.
“If the kidnapping was premeditated then the kidnapper most likely brought their own ropes and tapes to shut Nyuna up and subdue her. Considering that Nyuna is a popular idol who announced that she was gonna perform at the park, premeditation is highly possible.” said Fushichin with a contemplative look.
“So, the culprit has to have a rope with them or a bag that conceals said rope?” asked Juniper.
“Yes.” said Hellen as she looked determined.
“Hey, how long did you see that ghost? Did the ghost stay at the party for long or no?” asked Nera.
Buudi scratched his head and said “I wasn’t paying much attention. I laughed and danced. There was a really great looking young lady with half angel and half devil costume. I danced with her. I only saw and noticed that there were two ghosts in the party overall. But there were like 50 or so people there. The fact that I looked at each of them one at a time is a miracle in itself.”
“Then someone outside must have seen that ghost figure. They couldn’t simply throw away their costume because that would reveal Nyuna who was under the sheet.” said Hellen.
“Too bad I can’t be help in that search. I was dancing around until one of the idol managers came here to inform us that Nyuna was missing. I contributed to the search but oohhhh, I wasn’t successful.” said Buudi.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find Nyuna for you.” said Hellen with a confident look.
Buudi smiled and nodded back with happiness towards Hellen.
They exited the dance party and entered into the open.